[This is the letter Murphey sent to the dean and other
WichitaStateUniversity officials declaring his retirement from the faculty as
of June
30, 2003.The second paragraph contains an unusual
request, which is best understood by those who have read the first third of
Murphey’s book Emergent Man and Chapter 9 of his Understanding the
Modern Predicament.He did not want
the seriousness of his life’s work to be masked by even the most pleasant
banalities.]

October 25, 2002

Dean John Beehler

BartonSchool of Business

WichitaStateUniversity

Wichita, KS67260

Dear Dean Beehler:

I have
decided to retire as of the end of June, 2003, and have thought it would be
good to give you this notification in plenty of time for the College to fill
the position.

If I may, I
would like to make an unusual request.It is that there be no events (such as the usual luncheon or reception)
to commemorate my retirement.I will
have spent 36 years at very serious intellectual work here, and I don't think
there is anyone at the University sufficiently acquainted with it to speak
about it without trivializing it.So I
would just as soon be "an old soldier who just fades away."

I am
giving copies of this letter to Dr. Robert Kindrick, the VPAAR; Dr. Sue
Abdinnour-Helm, my department chair; and Connie Landreth in the Office of Human
Resources.